Conventionally, a vehicle such as a Hybrid Vehicle (HV), an Electric Vehicle (EV), or a Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV) has a plurality of electrical devices mounted thereon. In a vehicle having a rotating electrical machine mounted thereon, for example, electrical devices such as the rotating electrical machine and an inverter are connected to each other via a cable such as a lead wire. At this time, when a cable such as a lead wire is connected to an electrical device, a connector is usually used. In other words, a cable and an electrical device are respectively provided with connectors shaped to be fittable with respect to each other. Each of the connectors serves as a male connector or a female connector and has a contact point for making electrical connection. Therefore, by fitting a male connector into a female connector, their contact points are joined together and electrically connected.
In particular, for connectors connected under the circumstances where vibrations are incessantly caused by a rotating electrical machine, for example, a fixing structure is required for reliable fixing. Therefore, a bolt is fastened, for example, to fix a connector to a housing. The following document discloses a technique of fixing a connector by fastening a bolt.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-75557 discloses a shielded connector in which a shielded electrical wire can be arranged to extend in a direction parallel to a shielded wall facing thereto, and which can be downsized. The shielded connector is formed such that a housing, which covers a terminal portion of the shielded electrical wire, accommodates a proximal end of a terminal fitting that is pressure-bonded to a core wire of the shielded electrical wire. The shielded connector is attached to fit in a through hole formed in the shielded wall facing thereto. A shield layer of the shielded electrical wire is connected to the shielded wall facing thereto in an electrically conducting manner, and at the same time, a tip of the terminal fitting is held in such a state that it protrudes into the shielded wall facing thereto. In the shielded connector, the terminal fitting is formed such that a flat plate portion, which is contiguously formed from a portion to be pressure-bonded to the core wire, is bent into an L-shape as a whole. The terminal fitting is covered with an insulating member from its proximal end to a portion closer to the tip. A shielding member is provided in the housing for covering an outer periphery of the insulating member that covers the terminal fitting. One end of the shielding member is contiguous to, or connected in an electrically conducting manner to, the shield layer of the shielded electrical wire, while the other end thereof is placed at a portion where the housing abuts against the shielded wall facing thereto.
According to the shielded connector disclosed in the above-described document, when the housing of the shielded connector is attached to the shielded wall facing thereto, the terminal fitting, which is pressure-bonded to the core wire of the shielded electrical wire, protrudes into the shielded wall, at one end of the housing. At the other end of the housing, the shielded electrical wire is arranged to extend in parallel with the shielded wall facing thereto. Here, the terminal fitting is formed such that the flat plate portion, which extends from the pressure-bonded portion, is bent into an L-shape to form a right angle. Since the fiat plate portion can be bent with a bending radius smaller than that of the shielded electrical wire, the bent portion thereof can be made smaller, resulting in downsizing of the entire shielded connector.
However, if a rotating electrical machine is mounted on an HV vehicle of a Front engine Rear drive (FR) type, for example, the rotating electrical machine is required to be mounted in the vehicle's center tunnel, which has a limited mounting space. Therefore, if the rotating electrical machine is initially mounted and then a connector is assembled thereto, an extremely long cable may be required. Furthermore, the connector assembled to the rotating electrical machine is placed under the severe circumstances where the connector vibrates in accordance with a movement of the rotating electrical machine. Accordingly, it is necessary to improve contact between connectors and reliability of a cable. In other words, it is necessary to fix a connector and a cable to a motor in a reliable manner.
According to Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-75557, a single bolt is fastened to fix a connector. However, in view of the case where the connector is placed under the circumstances where vibrations are incessantly caused by a rotating electrical machine and the like, it-is necessary to increase the number of fixed points of a connector and a cable to provide reliable fixing.
If the number of fixed points of a connector and a cable is simply increased, movement of the cable itself is restricted. Therefore, when the cable vibrates, a stress is inevitably focused on the fixed points of the connector and the cable. If a stress is focused on the fixed points of the connector and the cable, the cable repeatedly undergoes a stress caused by vibrations on its fixed points. As a result, lead wires forming the cable degrade with fatigue.